Blog: Empowering women is key for the world's prosperity - Hoofdinhoud

Development can only be achieved if discrimination is addressed

This week I’ve been in Riga, Latvia, where a high-level representation of development stakeholders and decision makers came together to discuss Women’s Empowerment. The event was the perfect occasion to launch the thematic month dedicated to Women and Girls in the context of the European Year for Development.

Such a high-level gathering showed our clear commitment to ensuring women’s empowerment as a critical factor to successfully fight poverty - through increased production, rising household incomes, and improved child health and education levels.

I feel very strongly that long-term stability and development can only be achieved if all forms of discrimination against women are addressed. The European Union firmly supports actions in this field, with about 200 projects and initiatives currently funded around the world.

Let me illustrate this with some examples. In the Central African Republic, the EU finances a project, through the innovative Békou Trust fund, that is helping women to overcome poverty and the impact of recent conflict in the country by strengthening their economic and social capacity. This is done through the creation of communal spaces to offer them advice and training (e.g. on health and nutrition, conflict mediation, literacy training, psychological consultation etc). Women are also being provided with access to financial services, such as loans, to establish their own economic activities.

In Haiti, the EU has, since the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake, which made 1.5 million people homeless, helped families to relocate to safe, rental properties in the communities of their choosing. One of them is Marie Ange Morency, a 50 year-old woman who lost her only daughter in the earthquake; as well as her niece and goddaughter. She was living in a tent until her relocation in 2013. The EU subsidised the rent of her new home for one year; during which she participated in a small-scale business training programme. As she did well in the training, she was able to prepare a business plan and received a small business grant along with some equipment. She is now a business woman, selling cold drinks and small snacks on a busy street in Turgeau, Port au Prince, and she’s been able to renew her rent contract by her own financial means.

Marie Ange is just one of many inspiring women I´ve heard about, who through their hard work and sacrifices play an extraordinary role in the development of their countries.

In the current discussions on the post-2015 framework for poverty eradication and sustainable development, I can confirm that the EU will provide its full support to making sure that the needs and challenges of women like Maria Ange are taken into account and provided for, so that in the next 15 years, positive stories like this become more and more the norm.